Lok Sabha elections: Sons of two former CMs locked in close contest again

SHIVAMOGGA: The land of poets and radical thinkers, Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency witnessed a close fight between the sons of two former chief ministers in the byelection just around six months ago. BY Raghavendra, the son of BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa, had the last laugh over Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S) then. The two are locking horns again in a direct and battle. Madhu said the last-minute announcement of candidature had left him with little time to reach out to voters. “But this time, I had ample time and received a good response. I am confident of making it this time,” said Madhu, who is invoking the name of his late father and fourtime Shivamogga MP S Bangarappa in his campaigns.

The JD(S)- Congress leaders have deciphered a key mechanism to success — Bhadravathi factor — which has often been decisive in the BJP’s success since 2009. In 2018, the BJP won seven of the eight assembly segments under this constituency (including Byndoor in Udupi district). Despite being a Congress bastion and largely dominated by Vokkaligas and Muslims, Bhadravathi assembly seat has been largely favouring the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Local leaders attribute this to a tacit understanding between Bhadravathi Congress MLA BK Sangameshwar, a Lingayat, and Yeddyurappa. To break this nexus, Congress master strategist DK Shivakumar and CM HD Kumaraswamy recently set Sangameshwar and former Bhadravathi JD(S) MLA MJ Appaji Gowda a target of 1 lakh vote from Bhadravathi for Madhu or face stern action. “This seems to have fairly worked as both are seen actively campaigning for Madhu in their constituency,’’ party leaders said. The BJP, however, appears confident that the ‘Modi wave’ and ‘Yeddyurappa factor’ will work in its favour. The party is highlighting infrastructure upgrade projects implemented during Yeddyurappa’s tenure as the CM and Raghavendra’s effort in meeting long-pending demands of launching Janashatabdi, a daily train between Shivamogga and Bengaluru. Belonging to the strong Idiga community which has a big presence in Shivamogga, Madhu is bullish on consolidating SC/ST, Muslim and Vokkaliga community votes in his favour and hoping for a split in BJP’s strong Lingayat vote bank.

Knowing this well, Yeddyurappa has put all his six Idiga party MLAs on job to ensure a split in community vote bank. The MLAs includes Madhu’s elder brother Kumar, who represents Soraba, and Sagar MLA Hartal Halappa, who defeated Congress veteran Kagodu Thimmappa. Two factors — well established network of the BJP and invisible differences between Congress and JD(S) leaders — could well decide which way the result would swing.